Web browsers pervade computers, including consumer devices. With the proliferation of available content on the Internet, there is increasing need for media access from Web pages.
One conventional approach to media access from Web pages is a fire and forget method. This method provides the media in a Web server and starts a media player when a corresponding link on a Web page is clicked. The media runs in a separate application independent of the Web page. However, this is not a desirable consumer experience because the media being played in the separate application is not integrated and tied to the related information in the Web browser.
Another conventional approach to media access from Web pages is an embedded window method. In this method, the accessed media is embedded in a Web browser window using a plug-in. When the media-related Web page loads, the plug-in creates a window in the Web browser and plays the media in that window. If the user clicks a link to another page, the plug-in and window are removed and the media stops. However, this provides a very poor user experience because the media cannot persist across many similar pages.
Another conventional approach to media access from Web pages involves a framed window method. This method uses the aforementioned embedded window method to play the media, but places it in a separate frame. Since it is in a separate window, the media can continue to play. However, this method is undesirable because it requires reserving an area of the screen (e.g., a corner or top/bottom) for the media playback, and makes it difficult to allocate more than just a corner of the screen.